Sweden launches its largest military drill in two decades

On Monday 11 September, Sweden launched its biggest military exercise, Aurora 2017, in the last 20 years, simulating an attack on the Baltic island of Gotland and involving nearly 20,000 Swedish soldiers.

While Sweden is a neutral state, it is increasingly trying to strengthen its partnership with NATO and so up to 1,500 alliance troops are taking part in the drill. According to NATO commanders, the exercise is not a response to the joint Belarusian and Russian military drill Zapad 2017, which started on Thursday 14 September. It is clear, however, that the Russian Federation's political actions concern Sweden, which responded by strengthening its armed forces and re-introducing conscription. Sweden's membership in NATO is also expected to be debated in the country’s 2018 election, although according to Russia, such a scenario would negatively affect mutual relations and force Moscow to adopt further security measures.